A magnetic recording medium used for high density recording such as audio recording, video recording or computers has recently been required. The surface of a magnetic layer is made smooth to improve the sensitivity (particularly the output in a high frequency region) of the magnetic recording medium, and a magnetic tape is made thinner, for example, 20 .mu.m or less. Further, a backing layer is a thin film and is readily worn. In addition, the strength of a whole tape is decreased because the tape is made thin, thereby affecting the running durability, the winding up property, drop out and output fluctuation.
When a magnetic tape with or without a backing layer is repeatedly run for several tens of times, color demagnetization often taken place particularly in a video tape.